1.
Image via KAMAU
5 On It is a feature that looks at five of the best under-the-radar rap findings from the past week, highlighting new or recently discovered artists, or interesting obscurities.
3.
Image via KAMAU
KAMAU – “The Sun King”
For a new year of 5 On It, it feels fitting to start with one of the most unique entries in the column.
It is unfairly limiting to call KAMAU a rapper when songs like “The Sun King” encompass so much more: “A song off of an upcoming project, composed completely out of my raw vocals. Enjoy!”
I’m tempted to tell you to skip the words below and just dive into the music, but read on if you care for my take.
KAMAU’s style is a thrilling crossroads of diverse influences and reference points. It feels, often, of a piece with Los Angeles singer and vocal experimenter Moses Sumney, traces of Chance the Rapper’s syllable-bending acrobatics, and hints of Talib Kweli (in his emphatic annunciation) with a flow more tightly wound and fixated on the sounds of words. There are also possibly unintentional resonances of the jazzy, freeform rapping of Freestyle Fellowship, but that might be a coincidence born of a shared love of jazz (which doesn’t seem beyond the realm of possibility).
Kamau’s music may not need abundant context to fascinate, but I did find the about section of his Facebook page as perfect table-setting for diving into his catalog:
“I am alive and alive I am, however, alive is not my name. My name is Kamau, and consequentially, Kamau I am, however I am not a name. I am not a name and therefore I am not Kamau, Its relationship to me is that of the relationship between “Apple”,(the word and/or idea) and an apple, (the actual physical apple). Kamau is my label, my global verbal calling card. It means Quiet Warrior. I am, amongst many things, a Quiet Warrior, but that is only a fraction of a description of what I am. I am also a breather which is, as well, only a fraction of something much bigger. I am a cosmic being with a presence on multiple levels of existence, (mental, physical, spiritual, etc.), just like you and any other thing that exists in or outside of something.
We have something in common.
It is very nice to meet you… You can call me Kamau
What can I call you?”
An ample, idiosyncratic talent to watch.
As a bonus, the equally unique and arresting “Moon.”
7.
Image via Kweku Collins
Kweku Collins – “One”
A late favorite from 2014, Kweku Collins emerged as one of the more endearing artists featured in 5 On It. “One”—the lead single from his upcoming Worlds Away EP—expands on the whimsical formula of previous standout “Lonely Lullabies.”
Pretty piano and lively percussion buoy Collins’ loose, sing-song rapping, the foundation for a compelling love song that feels like an intimate moment shared in a dark field with the stars ablaze—simultaneously personal and far larger than itself. Collins’ playful promises (“I’ll be the one if you need a two/I’ll be the soldier for your salute/You be the teacher I’ll be the student/You play detective I’ll be the clue”) give “One” the energy and hope of young romance, a pure feeling to warm those jaded by modern relationships (and rap’s largely “fuck-em-and-leave-em” philosophy).
10.
Image via Zuse
Zuse – “Tell Ya Bout It”
One of the must enduring moment’s of Tyler, the Creator’s still young career is the opening line of his debut album’s title track “Bastard”: “This is what the Devil plays before he goes to sleep.” 11 words that set the scene for the shock tactics and darkly humorous vision of Tyler’s impressive first work.
The Devil might have new bedtime music.
Zuse has been bubbling in Atlanta now for the past year or so. He’s released a few notable songs, but hasn’t yet had that breakthrough moment that heats his name up in the city to the point that he boils over.
“Tell Ya Bout It” may not be the song that cuts through the fog for Zuse, but, in the tradition of menacing street hits like Future’s “Shit,” it is a heavy, maniacal snapshot of what makes him so compelling. As the introduction to Zuse’s recent Illegal Immigrant mixtape, “Tell Ya Bout It” showcases the Jamaican transplant’s explosive, borderline psychotic charisma and ample rapping ability—some would cave against a beat this slow and layered, Zuse rises to the challenge of its rhythmic intricacies.
13.
Image via Justiiice
Justiiice – “In The Breeze”
In the process of recapping a year’s worth of 5 On It, I dug back through each column, often checking on the progress of some of my favorites that didn’t make the “best of” cut. One entry that came close was Yende and Anakan’s delirious, catchy “D O W N T O T H E A T O M.”
Revisiting Anakan’s Soundcloud page (now rebranded as Justiiice) led me to the plodding, hypnotic “In The Breeze.” It is a song cut from the same cloth as “D O W N T O T H E A T O M,” with a darker bent. Paranoid and unexpectedly poetic, “In The Breeze” is unique amongst rap songs about women: part ode to a lost love, part typical resignation to get fucked up and forget all about her.
16.
Image via Alex Ruffin
Alex Ruffin – “Soliloquy”
There’s a fine line the earnest walk between dull ham-fistedness and captivating honesty.
Though Connecticut rapper Alex Ruffin’s music typically relies too heavily on nostalgic production for my taste, new song “Soliloquy” shows his ear evolving slightly to pick a more evocative beat in that mold. On “Soliloquy,” Ruffin approaches “captivating honesty,” speaking with fire on the struggle of a young man trying to make a career of his art. It’s territory well-traveled by other shoes, but the gravity of Ruffin’s voice breathes blood and weight into his observations and declarations.
